Megan Wilcots, Visiting Scholar of the Arnold Arboretum

I was the first Global Change Postdoctoral Fellow from the Arnold Arboretum, a position I held jointly with my Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) fellowship. Now as a Visiting Scholar, I will work with Professor Ben Taylor to study how Arctic heatwaves alter nitrogen fixation and carbon uptake. My research experience has spanned from the tropics to the poles, with a focus on how global change affects carbon uptake of ecosystems. My dissertation research focused on how nitrogen deposition affects plant community composition and ecosystem carbon storage in Minnesota grasslands. I also works in the Arctic, understanding how nutrient release from permafrost thaw may restructure Arctic ecosystems.